Closets of Shame
Posted by Beckie | Filed under Beckie
When new acquaintances come over to my house, they usually look around longingly say “Gee Beckie, your house is so neat….” I usually quip “Well, you aren’t allowed to open any closet doors!”
Being blessed with a 2400 square foot house in the ‘burbs, I feel like we have quite a lot of space for our “stuff”, but I also hate clutter, so I tend to dump things into closets and drawers when I’m cleaning up. As we all know, looks can be deceiving, and for the record I am far from being a perfectly organized person. At some point I reach my breaking point, usually after months of opening the overfilled drawer or closet, shuddering at the mess, and closing it really quickly. If I don’t have to see the mess, then it isn’t really there…right?
Well, obviously I like to delude myself into having a house worthy of a decorating magazine. I’ll also just pretend I don’t see those carpet stains and dust balls lurking under dressers. But spring has sprung and I recently decided it was time to deal with the mess and organize the closets and drawers. The downside of this cleaning rampage is all of the work involved, but the upside is finding some well…interesting things.
Found in my TV Cabinet: The TV (well, duh…but it was covered in dust fur), several pieces of cat food (we haven’t had a cat in 5 years, this is so embarrassing), VHS tapes (don’t have a VCR anymore), DVDs to sort through and giveaway, money, wait PAUSE…money? Yes, there were a couple of quarters and a dime and a few pennies. Not much by itself, but when I add that to the money found in drawers, in clothing pockets, underneath dressers, inside knapsacks, an old wallet I forgot about, inside sofa cushions…All this adds up to a nice little stash.
Lest you think that I am being a martyr and doing all the work myself, I roped in the “little dude” (age 6) into helping to tackle his “mini-me” junk drawer, as well as his bursting closet. I found a Tupperware for a zillion of his Kinder surprise egg toys. The closet is still a work in-progress because he tends to put his toys in there that he doesn’t want his little sister to touch (she’s 2), so even after we reduce the toy mountain, it seems to re-grow overnight 
As for the “found money”, I’m going to keep it as a float for some outdoor toys I’d like to buy, such as jump ropes, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and new sand for the sand box.
In her late 30s, with a husband and two small children, she lives in the ‘burbs of Toronto. A librarian, Beckie works part-time. In her free time, “I am a chauffeur/part-time cook/boo boo kisser/housecleaner and laundry lady extraordinaire. I do most of the household shopping and financial planning.”
April 23, 2012 at 6:49 pm
Hey Beckie!
You and I are similar creatures – hide the mess where no one can see it when people come over
However, my home is half the size of yours so we don’t have a lot of places to stick stuff! On the negative side, a lot gets put into our bedroom since it’s the biggest room in the house to which I can close the door. On the positive side, not having a ton of space means re-evaluating the “stuff” and getting rid of it a lot quicker (though not fast enough to hubby’s liking!).
Kudos on the clean up! What I have learned is to tackle one small spot at a time. Otherwise, if you take on too much and can’t get it all done within a certain time limit, it sits there and you end up shoving it right back in again!:)
Nice idea for the extra cash! I wouldn’t recommend those coloured bubbles they have now. Someone gave them to us – what a mess! Went in the garbage the next day!
April 25, 2012 at 9:22 am
I agree with Mees. Do one closet/drawer/set of drawers at a time and it won’t seem so overwhelming. That being said, my downstairs looks like a bomb went off. I don’t have the heart to tackle that quite yet. It would involve cleaning up wine bottles (we make our own), cleaning up the computer area, cleaning out the cold storage room, making more shelves for my books and getting rid of the boxes that have been there since we moved in… 6 1/2 years ago. (no shame on the kitty food from this girl!) So yeah.. I feel for you and know that one area at a time is best. Now just to take my own advice!
April 27, 2012 at 11:59 pm
Oh Beckie I love your honesty. I’m sure that many, actually MOST people do this. And if I’m right, I beg the question, why do we all keep doing it?! Why do we care so much about what other people think of our homes! Haha I’m just as guilty so I’m only trying to ask myself.
Christi